Sunlight
by amberthefool
Summary: Snupin SnapeLupin, i.e. slash ficlet, slightly dark. First of three. Set in their fifth year a continuation of Snape's Worst Memory.


Snupin i.e. slash. PG. Characters not mine. First three lines (which are italicised) actually taken from OoTP. Enjoy, and please review constructively.

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"_Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right-" _

_There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air._

"_Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"_

"Prongs. Stop it." Remus had put down his book and was walking up to his friend, the frown line on his forehead more pronounced now. James stared at him, torn between the opportunity to torment Snivellus and not wanting the disappointed lecture routine from his friend.

"Moony! It's just a bit of harmless fun. Why do you care, anyway? I doubt a greasy git like _Snivelly_ who's so stuck up his own arse would appreciate help from the likes of us."

"James, please. It's gone far enough."

"I…" James looked over to Sirius, seemingly searching for some sign of approval. Sirius just shrugged, reverting to his façade of boredom. "Oh fine. Wouldn't want to get a ticking off from a _prefect_, Moony." James was grinning again, a mischievous grin completely lacking in the cruelty he'd been showing just a moment ago. He waved his wand nonchalantly at Snape, who came crashing to the ground head-first. Snape hurriedly dusted off his robes and turned to leave, scowling at James and Sirius.

"Huh! Not even grateful, the little bugger." Oh, I dunno,", muttered James, with a longsuffering sigh, "Between Evans and you, I'm never going to have fun ever again, am I?" He turned to Sirius again. "Up for some Quidditch practice, Padfoot? You and Wormtail can watch if you like, Moony."

"Nah, thanks. I think I'll head inside and finish up on my revision." Remus watched, shaking his head, as James and Sirius headed towards the pitch, followed by an overly enthusiastic Peter. He picked up his things and hurried after the rapidly retreating form of Snape.

He shouted after him as they entered the entrance hall. "Sn…Severus! Please wait!" Snape's only response was to quicken his pace. Remus followed him as he began to descend the staircases towards the dungeons, almost tripping over as his foot bumped against something.

He bent down to see what it was. _Jackie Annual 1975_, proclaimed the title, in big blue letters. There was a girl on the front cover, dressed in Muggle clothing. Remus reached to open it and it fell open at a dog-eared page. _From Slimy to Sleek in Six Smooth Steps_ was the confident proclamation at the top of the page, and it was followed by a flow-chart of illustrations on hair care. _Hair _care Remus turned to look up and down the corridor. It was deserted. Apart from himself and Snape, everyone was outside enjoying the summer sunshine. Snape. Pureblood-fixation-having Snape. With a Muggle _girls_ magazine. His lips quirked upwards slightly at the thought, and he pocketed the _Annual_ and started to follow Snape's path down to the dungeons again.

He caught sight of him by their Potions classroom and yelled "Snape! I think you dropped something." Snape turned around to face him, scowling.

"And what would that be, mudblood?"

Remus shook his head, exasperated. "Mudblood? Is that the only insult you have? Oh, never mind. I just wanted to ask you if you were okay. James was quite…harsh with you out there."

Snape's lip curled into a sneer. "Oh, has Dumbledore's precious little werewolf come to check on the poor little Slytherin?"

"I…I don't think you're a poor little Slytherin. You can label yourself if you want to, but don't drag me into it. I just wanted to check if you were hurt or…something." Faced with Snape's habitual scorn, Remus was beginning to wonder why he had even bothered.

"A werewolf, caring about other people's wellbeing? That's a likely story, half-breed, and you know it. You've probably just come to finish off what the mudblood-lover started. You can keep your fake pity, and tell that mudblood Evans where to shove it while you're at it!"

Remus' eyes had gone cold at the mention of Lily. "Fine. I didn't follow you to pity you. I came to see if you needed help. But I suppose you don't. I thought you might have wanted your Muggle magazine back, but I guess I'll show it to James and Sirius once they get back. I'm sure your friends in Slytherin would be pretty interested in it too." He started to walk away, ignoring the urge to turn back and punch the sneer off Snape's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't read Muggle magazines. Why would I? Come back here, werewolf!" His voice was quavering with fear now.

Remus turned around, slowly, fists clenched by his sides. "My name is Lupin. Remus Lupin. Call me that, and I might listen to you."

"Fine then…Lupin. Give me that book back."

"You mean this book?" Remus pulled it out of his pocket and held it out of Snape's reach.

"Yes! It's not mine, you see. I was just keeping it for a friend. Yes, a friend."

"You have a friend with a greasy hair problem who reads Muggle magazines. Right. I think I'll keep it, actually. I'll be sure to return it to your _friend_, if you tell me who he is." He turned to walk away again, holding the magazine by his side.

Snape rushed up to him, grabbing his arm and pushing him against the wall. "Give me that BOOK, Lupin, or ELSE…" he hissed out.

"Or else what?" asked Remus, and this time he was the one who was sneering. Snape didn't bother to answer. Instead, dropped his schoolbag to the floor and pushed his lips against Remus', suddenly, kissing him. The kiss was awkward and fumbled, and Remus could feel the cold stone of the dungeon wall poking into his back, but the only feeling he could concentrate on was that of Snape's body against his, Snape's thin lips joined to his, Snape's tongue… He moaned, his hands reaching up to touch Snape's face, the magazine lying long-forgotten on the floor.

"_Incendio!" _Snape had pulled away from Remus and set fire to the magazine. Remus looked at the pile of ashes on the floor, bewildered, and then back to Snape's face, still breathless. "Gryffindors. So full of _passion_ and _emotion_. So bloody easy to manipulate." Snape's last words came out on a growl as he picked up his bag. "It was only a kiss, werewolf. Don't look so bloody stricken." With that, he shouldered his bag and walked away.

Like he'd said, it was only a kiss. So why was it that he stayed awake in his bed at night, putting a finger to his lips and remembering the brief taste of sunlight?

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That was my first ever try at slash. phew Written for Jaxmari, who tricked,chivvied and pushedme into it, for which I am grateful:P 


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